


Fall Out

by LoWritesThings



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Confession, F/M, Jaime's left with whiplash, One-Shot, just for fun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25925977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoWritesThings/pseuds/LoWritesThings
Summary: “You punched me,” Jaime Lannister said, glaring at her from behind a wad of paper towels he had clutched to his nose. Brienne ignored his livid green eyes and looked down at her maths textbook, frowning at a particularly complicated equation.“I did,” she agreed calmly. Her pencil tapped against her blank paper as she considered where to start. “You deserved it.”
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 11
Kudos: 128





	Fall Out

**Author's Note:**

> I got distracted when I should have been working on "Unfamiliar Territory." But don't worry, I *am* working on that one too!
> 
> This is a bit of nothing but I thought I'd share.

“You _punched_ me,” Jaime Lannister said, glaring at her from behind a wad of paper towels he had clutched to his nose. Brienne ignored his livid green eyes and looked down at her maths textbook, frowning at a particularly complicated equation.

“I did,” she agreed calmly. Her pencil tapped against her blank paper as she considered where to start. “You deserved it.”

“I deserved it?” Jaime seemed to swell with indignation. “What in the seven hells is that supposed to mean?”

Brienne set her pencil down and looked up at him at last, pinning him with her steady blue gaze. She didn’t look angry or even annoyed, just weary--as if having to explain to someone why she’d punched them was a frequent occurrence. From the size of her shoulders and her battered hands, perhaps it was.

“You were bullying Bran Stark. He’s just a little kid, Jaime.” She looked so profoundly disappointed in him that for a second, Jaime felt a pang of shame. He tried to shrug it off quickly. Why should Brienne Tarth’s opinion matter to him at all? Besides, it wasn’t as if Bran Stark was some innocent angel. He’d been running around telling everyone that Jaime and Cersei were making out, a story which a few of his older siblings were happy to pick up and spread around the school. He opened his mouth to remind her of that, and to tell her that he’d just wanted Bran to tell everyone the truth--that he’d made it all up--but Brienne cut him off.

“I really don’t care what he was saying about you and your sister. You’re almost an adult, you should have known better. And then there was the bet. I suppose I was still a bit upset about that, too.”

Jaime’s brow furrowed. “The bet? The _homecoming_ thing? I didn’t have anything to do with that.”

“You beat the shit out of half the tennis team.”

“You would have preferred I let them get away with that shit?” Now he was really outraged. He might not have the best reputation on campus, but even he wasn’t going to let a bunch of utterly mediocre cunts date rape a seventeen year old girl. Even if he did think she was brutish and annoying…

Strong. And brave. And _good_.

Dammit.

“I would have preferred to do it myself. And I would have preferred it if you had stood up to your sister instead of her lackeys.”

“Tarth,” he growled, warning her off. But she pushed her textbook aside and met his gaze full on, scowling at him with all the dislike she could muster in that oversized body of hers. Lightning could have crashed into the room they were in and neither would have paid it any mind.

“I don’t know why you keep standing up for her. You _know_ she’s doing this stuff and you _know_ it’s wrong. And _I_ know that you’re not a bad guy. So why don’t you say anything to her?” Brienne demanded. Her blue eyes were so bright and fierce that for a second, he forgot to be mad at her and just drank them in. Then he remembered that he was defending his kith and kin and snapped back into the argument.

“Do I know that? For that matter, how do you know that? Do you have any proof?” When she didn’t answer, he crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s your word against hers and she’s got a lot more friends than you.”

“I wouldn’t call them friends,” Brienne replied sharply, “and I might not have proof, but it’s no great mystery that your sister wanted to humiliate me just as much as Red and his buddies.”

Jaime let out an exasperated breath and rolled his eyes. “ _Why_ would she want to humiliate you, Tarth? You’re a nobody.”

Brienne glared at him hard for another minute, and then to his astonishment, she broke eye contact and blood rushed up her chest and neck to flood her entire face.

She only managed to squeeze one word out between her clenched teeth. “Because.”

“Yes?” he coaxed with raised eyebrows, now dying with curiosity.

“Because I have the audacity to _like you_ , okay?” She slammed her chair back and hurried to her feet. For a moment she towered over him where he sat in his chair. Then she swept her notebook, textbook and pencil into her bag and fled from the study hall as if someone had set fire to her. Meanwhile, Jaime sat frozen, staring after her as her words echoed through his head.

Liked him? Brienne Tarth, absolute paragon of justice, defender of the downtrodden…liked _him_?

He shot out of his chair. “Tarth! _Wait!”_ he called. It would probably take a miracle for him to catch her before she made it to the car park, but he was going to try.


End file.
